Girls on Film: Abolishing "Girl Films" and "Guy Films"

There are many problems to tackle when it comes to women and Hollywood; if it was all tiptoeing and daisies, this column wouldn't exist. To make things even peskier, most roadblocks can't be destroyed by one simple action. Each has a complex universe of factors keeping any seemingly simple desire -- like better female protagonists or women behind the camera -- from being fixed by one, two, or even three steps.

But there is one small, yet horribly irksome problem that could be fixed pronto. It does not require overhauling the studio system. It's just a simple change in phrasing -- one that doesn't require new language, and doesn't make any cinematic wording any more complicated.